On Tuesday Heisman Trophy Finalist and K-State quarterback Collin Klein met with the media to talk about the multitude of awards that he's up for, and some he's already won.

Senior Quarterback Collin KleinOn where he was when he heard about being a Heisman Trophy finalist…“I was actually doing some shopping with Shalin (Klein) to pick up some things for the trip. I got a few text messages. I actually was not watching the official announcement. Again, I am super honored to be able to represent our team and Kansas State with an award like the Heisman. It is an honor.”

On what he wants people to know about him…“I think the main thing that I want people to know is, first of all, anything I have accomplished has been through a God-given opportunity with God-given ability. That is my first goal is to honor Him in that and with what He has given me to do. That is the most important thing to me. That is the first and the main thing I want people to take away from my story. I would also want them to maybe know that sometimes it is true that with God, all things are possible. If you were to ask anybody a couple years ago that we would be sitting here having this conversation today, they probably would not have believed you. People would have put a lot of money down on it.

“It has been a journey. It is one that I definitely could not have scripted this way. Again, the Lord did have a plan, and I am just so blessed and fortunate to have this opportunity with this team and these people here and be a part of this family. I think those would be the main things that are most important to me.”

On ever dreaming about having the chance to win the Heisman Trophy…“I have been a huge football fan forever. If you were to interview 10 kids playing football on the playground when they are young, they will probably all answer that question, ‘Hey, I want to play for a National Championship or win a conference championship or win the Heisman,’ or stuff of that nature. I think I was no different than that. I obviously knew what it was. It is funny, my mom actually was digging through some of my stuff recently. She said, this was when I was a sophomore or junior in high school, she found a little sheet of when I had written down some goals. This was one of those things that I had written down on that paper. I had completely forgotten about it. Obviously, it is a piece of history. Again, I was very blessed and have been very blessed that people in my life, my parents, Coach Snyder and especially the foundation of my faith, has put in to perspective of what is truly important. That has been trying to be the best I can be with what God has given me. Trying to serve this team to the fullest with everything I possibly have and invest in the lives of people, which is the most important thing. Those people are my teammates and the people around here, and that will leave a longer legacy than any award, even as prestigious as the Heisman. With that perspective and knowing that, it kind of puts it all in order for me.”

On how many random things had to happen for him to get where he is…“There is definitely a lot to it. I do not know if I would call them random. Just kind of going back, everything happens for a reason, and some crazy things have happened to lead our team and myself to this point. There are a lot of reasons for that. There is a lot of hard work, a lot of preparation, that has been put in on so many people’s part. So many people have invested in me when I was going through a hard time or struggling, and so many people, like my parents, coaches, Coach (Del) Miller and Coach Snyder kind of spoke in, encouraged me at different times that I think have carried and been a huge part of what has brought me here.”

On any Heisman winners that he would like to talk to…“I am excited to meet a lot of new people. I am sure that there are a lot of people that I have a tremendous respect for. It will be a great experience, and I cannot wait to meet everybody.”

On when he felt comfortable with the offense and felt like he could lead the team…“I think it has been a little bit of Coach Snyder’s mentality that is engrained in me now, and has been over my time here, that I still do not feel like I am comfortable with my current knowledge of the offense. Even though I have been in it and ran it obviously for a while now, I still want to know more. There are still new nuances, new things that we can do. I guess that constant feeling of being comfortable with being uncomfortable and constantly trying to improve is something, and I understand what you are saying is not complacency, but if you ever get to comfortable, then you kind of throw it into neutral and you quit moving forward. I think to answer your question directly, there was a time probably after my redshirt freshman to sophomore year when I really felt like I understood everything that was going on around me.”

On the last time that he wrote down any goals…“I do not think I have done anything like that since I have been to college. I think it is a little bit more that perspective from Coach Snyder and our team’s 16 goals. They kind of supersede and lay a bigger foundation than this amount of wins, this championship, this award, and that kind of sums up what is most important. It is not the wins or the awards. It is something much bigger.”

On how broad his plans are after graduation…“I do not know exactly what that looks like. Even though I do not know the exact opportunity or the exact landscape of what that looks like, I know that I want to honor and serve my Lord and Savior. I want to take care of my family spiritually, financially and physically, and serve the people in whatever community I am going to be around at that time. Whatever that looks like – if it is using my finance degree or if it is playing ball, or a mixture of both. Who knows what it could be. Whatever it looks like, as long as those three things are intact, then we will be just fine.”